Community Hospital Long Beach Joins MemorialCare Health System

On Friday, April 29, 2011 Community Hospital Long Beach joined MemorialCare Health System as its sixth hospital facility in Los Angeles and Orange Counties and third hospital in Long Beach. “Our ownership of Community Hospital Long Beach will enhance the ability of these remarkable hospitals to continue providing exceptional care for our communities well into the future,” says Barry Arbuckle, Ph.D., president and CEO of the not-for-profit MemorialCare Health System.

“We are excited to add such a dedicated and talented team of employees, physicians and volunteers to the MemorialCare family. They embody the can-do spirit that has made Community Hospital a provider of choice in East Long Beach,” says Diana Hendel, PharmD, who has led Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach for more than two years and becomes CEO of the three Long Beach hospitals.

With 1,006-licensed beds, the three Long Beach hospitals include 5,900 employees, 1,400 affiliated physicians and 1,000 volunteers.

“Community Hospital Long Beach will continue to benefit East Long Beach for decades to come,” says Nancy Myers, who served as the Community Hospital of Long Beach board chair. “Being part of MemorialCare brings new opportunities for our dedicated physicians, nurses and other professionals to provide the local community with greater health services while maintaining the level of highly personalized care that Community Hospital offers.”

Terms of the transaction include assuming the lease of Community Hospital campus from the City of Long Beach, which includes the hospital and medical office building.

Community Hospital’s leadership team will continue in their roles, reporting to Hendel. A search for a hospital administrator responsible for overall operations and business development is underway. Current employees of Community Hospital have been encouraged to remain, with most continuing in their roles. Plans to integrate and expand services offered by the Long Beach-based MemorialCare hospitals are in development.

Opened in 1924, the original Community Hospital building is designated as a Long Beach Historic Landmark for its Spanish Colonial Revival Style, its courtyard patio, fountain centerpiece and arcade facade.

As a new member of the MemorialCare family in Long Beach, Community Hospital joins Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children’s Hospital, which rank in the top two in the West in numbers of hospital beds on one campus. With more than a century of caring for the community, Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children’s Hospital have received significant and ongoing accolades, including listings among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals and Top Children’s Hospital rankings. Recently, they were honored with MemorialCare Health
System as one of just 29 businesses worldwide to receive the prestigious Gallup Great Workplace Award.